A Bacterium Inherits a Mutation That Renders Its Topoisomerase Enzyme

question 5

Multiple Choice

A bacterium inherits a mutation that renders its topoisomerase enzyme nonfunctional. What phenotype would you expect to see in this bacterium?

• A)The cell would accumulate broken DNA because overwinding cannot be corrected, so the cell would be unable to replicate and would die.
• B)The cell would accumulate supercoiled DNA, but otherwise it would be perfectly normal.
• C)The cell would accumulate relaxed DNA, which would make DNA replication and cell division highly disorganized and lead to cell death.
• D)The cell would accumulate relaxed DNA, but otherwise it would be perfectly normal.
• E)The cell would be unaffected because bacteria have many different topoisomerases that are involved in replication.

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